MPs Tan Wu Meng and Louis Chua seek updates on CPIB’s investigations into Seatrium

SINGAPORE — Members of Parliament Dr. Tan Wu Meng (PAP) and Louis Chua of the Workers’ Party have filed parliamentary questions seeking an update from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the ongoing investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on Seatrium Limited, a marine engineering company.

Dr. Tan sought answers to whether the investigations pertained to the predecessor entities of Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine. Dr Tan also inquired about the measures of justice applicable to individuals found guilty in these investigations, and the potential impact on Singapore’s reputation. For Chua, he sought clarification on the number of current and former employees of Seatrium that are currently being investigated. Additionally, the Sengkang GRC MP asked if the CPIB is working with the Comptroller General of Brazil on the preliminary administrative liability proceeding against the company’s subsidiary.

The CPIB confirmed on May 31 that they have initiated investigations on Seatrium and several individuals associated with the company. Seatrium was established earlier this year as a result of the merger between two offshore and marine companies, Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine.

“Acting on information received, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau commenced investigations against Seatrium Limited and individuals from Seatrium Limited on alleged corruption offences that occurred in Brazil,” stated CPIB in their media release.

On June 1st, Seatrium issued a statement mentioning that the company had previously been investigated by Brazilian authorities in connection with ‘Operation Car Wash’, which began in or around early 2015. The statement also acknowledged the latest probe by the CPIB regarding alleged corrupt offences that took place in Brazil.

“The Company believes that this relates to events that occurred prior to 2015 and to the Sembcorp Marine group in existence at that time. Those events predate the merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine which only took place in February 2023,” said Seatrium in their Jun 1 statement.

Despite the ongoing investigation, Seatrium has a relatively encouraging outlook. They successfully replaced Keppel DC REIT in the Straits Times Index (STI) which resulted in a positive impact on the index. Seatrium currently holds a total market cap of S$8.5 billion, whereas Keppel DC REIT is valued at S$3.7 billion. According to a report by The Business Times, the STI grew by 1.6% or S$12.7 billion to reach S$804.7 billion in June. The STI is a market capitalisation weighted index that tracks the performance of the top 30 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange.

In February of this year, Sembcorp Marine completed the acquisition of Keppel Offshore & Marine in a deal worth S$4.5 billion. Shortly afterward, during the 60th Annual General Meeting in April, the shareholders approved a name change for the company to Seatrium. During the AGM, William Goh, the Group Finance Director, presented an overview of the company’s financial and operating performance. This included a revenue of S$1.95 billion for the 2022 financial year and a current combined new order book worth approximately S$20 billion, with planned completions from 2023 to 2026.